Captain Nemo_ The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius - Kevin J Anderson [63]
Tied up to the dock, the freshly painted Forward creaked in the afternoon breeze. Her copper-plated hull would provide greater durability for crashing through layers of polar ice. A gangplank extended to the dock, but the crew had already boarded. The previous days had been busy as deck workers loaded crates of supplies.
As was his custom, the Mayor of Nantes arrived in a spectacular carriage drawn by four white horses. White-clad coachmen drove the omnibus, and a postilion (also dressed in white) sat astride the front left horse. While rattling across the paving stones, the turning wheels actuated an internal music box that sent out tinkling chimes. These extravagant contraptions, called ‘White Ladies,’ reminded her of something Jules Verne might have imagined for his amusing stories.
Investors and newspapermen stood beneath crepe streamers, lecturing on the potential of this voyage of discovery. Some voiced proud optimism that Captain Hatteras, of all men, would find the fabled Northwest Passage.
The uninspired but enthusiastic band played the French national anthem. Standing in the crowd, Caroline wished she were at her pianoforte instead, composing an original piece for the Forward’s departure, a grand explorers’ march. At the moment, though, her job was simply to remain visible and look beautiful -- nothing more. Once Hatteras departed, she could reshape her life and accomplish more than she’d been able to do under her mother’s thumb.
She was the fresh young bride of the great captain. Her parents stood with her, the successful merchant and his wife, beaming with pride as they stared at the well-provisioned ship. Caroline had married her sea captain only the day before and had seen him for no more than ten minutes this entire morning. They had spent their wedding night together, and once again Caroline had performed to the expectations that others forced upon her, but she still did not know this man who was now her husband. She wouldn’t miss Hatteras a hundredth as much as she missed her long-lost André Nemo.
Hatteras had graying hair, mutton-chop sideburns, and a face weathered from years facing the salty wind -- but worst of all, she did not know him. Other than her father’s records of his business dealings, Caroline had discovered little about her new husband’s past. According to M. Aronnax, the good captain’s accomplishments and glories should have made any young woman proud. But Hatteras was twenty-five years her senior. He’d been married twice before, and both wives had died from fever while he was away at sea. She didn’t know his sense of humor or his personality, had never even asked if the man liked music.
Caroline wouldn’t get an opportunity to know him either, not for a long time. Hatteras would take his ship out with the afternoon’s outgoing tide. Even given the most favorable winds and the best weather possible, she would not see her husband again for at least two years, probably more than that.
No doubt Captain Hatteras had women in other ports, as was traditional for seafarers who sailed around the world, but he seemed little interested in romance. His entire life focused upon finding a trade route around the north pole. Perhaps his heart was as cold as the arctic seas he intended to explore.
Yet Caroline had married him. She had spoken the vows before God, and before witnesses. Years ago, she had made promises to Nemo, and she had meant them at the time -- but Nemo was gone, and her life would never be the same. She had to accept his loss. Hatteras was her husband now.
She had slept with him in a strange bed, in a strange house. An unfamiliar man in the darkness, he had been businesslike and oddly passionless for a man with a new young bride. Caroline had closed her eyes, tried to imagine being with Nemo instead of Captain Hatteras, but that did not help. The feelings were disappointing, and she did not want to diminish the fantasy lover in her mind. And